Penguin68

Actually, the process could be far more simple. Diversion signs where the road is blocked (or where it's convenient to do so and switching off the cameras pro-tem would allow traffic to be diverted - although if through areas with planters these would need to be moved out of the way. There is no need to change traffic orders etc. - a road blockage is normally allowed to trump these where necessary to allow free(er) flow of traffic, which would include emergency vehicles. Any authority worth its salt would do this, even where the blocked road was not in its technical jurisdiction (as the South Circular isn't). Southwark once again shows that it despises its electorate (and its tax payers). And Dulwich local councillors show that they share the Council's views wholeheartedly. They do not represent us - they represent the apparat to us. They are not our local councillors, they are Tooley Street's. We don't have councillors. Amended to add - What happens to ULEZ where innocent drivers are forced into the ULEZ zone because the boundary road is closed? Is this another nice little earner for City Hall?

I've had no deliveries at all this week - neither I think has anyone on my walk. If a postie is away then he/ she is not covered any longer. This shambles much pre-dates Covid, but of course is exacerbated by it. When the Sylvester Road DO was closed a number of staff did not transfer/ did not want to transfer to Peckham. The local management clearly thought they could get away with employing fewer staff and failed to recruit back to establishment. Once Covid did strike- and so many staff were either ill or isolating - they had no chance of offering an effective service. And made little attempt to try. I have found no post-people (actually walking the streets) to be anything other than helpful - but they have been hard-worked and are not responsible for sorting out the management's mess. I note from FB that the local labour party is trying to get into the act - running some sort of poll (don't trust it, based on their past 'polling' record)- probably an attempt to refocus local ire away from LTNs. The key thing is to separate the Covid-woes (which Royal Mail will pray-in-aid as much as they can) from the problems which pre-date it and are simply made worse by it. This is a management cock-up (probably at local level) but it means the Royal Mail locally is failing (and has been failing) its QOS requirements. Its failure to meet its Universal Service Obligation locally has been longstanding and egregious. This is an issue for local councillors and our MP to take-up with the regulator. Routes for remedy with the Royal Mail itself have resulted in some partial action (normally to find and deliver post in the name of a formal complainant, as in my case a year or so ago) but no long-term remedies have been put into place, nor is there any evidence of attempts to do so.

We need to go out of Southwark to post them - any idea which area is better? The 'mail centres' (sorting offices) in SE England are Croydon, Gatwick (Crawley), Greenford, Home Counties North (Hemel Hempstead), Jubilee (Hounslow), Medway (Rochester), London Central (Mount Pleasant). I think, as we are 'inner London' that our post goes to Mount Pleasant (although I suppose it might be Croydon). Post from Pillar boxes, Post Offices (including sub post offices) and businesses with a contract with Royal Mail are collected and brought together to the Mail Centres, for initial sorting. There is no evidence that the problems with individual Delivery Offices have spilled over to the mail collection service. If you are worried I would suggest taking mail to pillar boxes outside (or in the wall of) Post Offices, where regular collections are most likely (these are the priority boxes which Covid PCR Tests can be posted in).

This is a much cheaper and easier way to reduce your energy bills, especially in Victorian properties. Most Victorian (and Edwardian) properties are single skin (no cavity for cavity wall insulation)- so not that easy to insulate walls, and too much 'draft proofing' may well lead to undue levels of condensation. Draft proofing and then inserting air bricks to reduce condensation is a very round-about way of getting things done. Much of the local housing stock is not (in terms of its build) optimised around achieving zero carbon.

The trees were all being collected along Underhill this morning, by the normal kitchen/ garden waste crew - but they do, I believe, have to go back to the depot more frequently as their truck fills up far more quickly where the trees are left out whole. The 'rules' say that they collect whole trees under 6ft, but over 6ft the householder should cut them to leave pieces less than 6ft. They do advise those with garden waste contracts to cut their trees to fit into the brown bins, but (apart from me) I don't see many do that. Wooden ring 'stands' should also be removed. Last week the crew was a day late in collecting in Underhill, but this week they've been very prompt. Locally I can't see there's a problem.

I do object the very idea of the LTN as it had made my life much worst - more traffic, more pollution, more noise in front of my home. No, you are objecting to a specific LTN - the one that diverts traffic passed you. Not to the very idea of LTNs - everyone else of which does not impact your home at all. If you said it made everyone else's life worse (which you don't, and which it would be difficult to substantiate) that would be objecting to the 'very idea' of LTNs.

I see the whole area covered by the sorting office is now described as SE22. No, you see the whole area covered by the DO (Delivery Office) now described as SE22. Yes, by Royal Mail, and correctly. The ED DO was moved to Peckham, but remains the ED DO. The two work forces (and work) are separate. Delivery problems are for us in SE22 - the Peckham side is working, if not well, at least sufficiently better that deliveries to that postcode are not identified as current blackspots. [Delivery Offices and Sorting Offices are different - posted mail goes initially to Sorting Offices - mail which has been processed goes finally to Delivery Offices for final distribution to customers]. The problems for ED (SE22) deliveries started well before Covid (indeed before Sylvester Road was even closed, as the workforce was run down) - so the petition is appropriate as identifying a specific, non Covid and non seasonal problem, even if it has worsened recently linked to Covid.

It is clear there are a fair number of people that object to the LTNs. Just for the record, objecting to the specific LTNs imposed on East Dulwich and objecting to the principal of LTNs is not the same thing. And Councils maintaining some LTNs whilst substantially changing or removing others (following trial and requests for feedback) is not the same class of activity as Southwark making very minor changes, but otherwise maintaining all their LTNs - which I believe they have done, at least as they impact us in ED - outwith and ignoring any local feedback which doesn't fit in with their plans. The principal of lower traffic neighbourhoods, where for instance traffic is diverted from passing schools or neighbourhoods where previously there has been very high level of particulate pollution leading to lowered health outcomes, is very different from LTNs which divert traffic away from leafy areas of the borough and towards schools. People who object to specific LTNs should not, necessarily, be pilloried as those wholly against alleviating traffic caused health issues. Walking or cycling may contribute to personal health regimes (for those fit enough to walk or cycle) but encouraging personal fitness is very different from litigating against the alternative - which LTNs may well do.

I am simply going on what I was told, that there was a pay differential between being based in Sylvester Road and Highshore Road. Southwark certainly counts as an inner London Borough, although I suspect Camberwell might not have, before they were joined. We're clearly at the very fringes of 'inner London' in ED.

I don't understand the point made above about London Weighting, as I would have thought ED came within the area for Royal Mail staff to get London Weighting, but maybe I'm wrong. I believe Sylvester Road is classed as Outer London, Highshore Road as Inner London, so has a higher London Weighting allowance (at least, that's what a postie told me). When I worked for the Post Office, before BT split away in 1981, the two allowance rates existed, and I assume they still do .

I'm certainly not saying privatisation was the answer but maybe if they had had some competition they would have been a touch more dynamic. BT had not been able to raise money in the markets whilst still a nationalised industry (and indeed, as I said, had to 'lend' its operating surplus to the government as a negative borrowing requirement). After privatisation it invested ?20bn over the next 10 years in the network (a non-trivial sum in those days) - certainly competition changed attitudes (over time) - but it was the ability to borrow and invest which was the key element at the start. The government could have opened the investment taps without privatising, but chose not to. I'd worked for BT for 10 years before privatisation, and then 20 years after. It is unlikely, with its operating model, that Royal Mail could borrow as successfully as BT did, so investment in a new, state of the art, DO for East Dulwich was less possible - the revenue streams just aren't there to justify it. But recruiting and retaining staff for Highshore Road is a different order of commitment. Our problems are ones of poor management - the fact that most DOs across the country aren't in crisis mode simply reinforces that view. Management and unions, seemingly, supported the closure of the Silvester Road office and we are the ones who are feeling the pain - who was looking after our interests? The management were, and are, incompetent. The unions (quite properly) wanted their staff out of a DO which was not fit for purpose as far as staff well-being went, and were gaining for moving staff higher wages (inner London, not outer London weighting). This is what unions do (and are paid to do). The Royal Mail has service level contracts which it is failing to meet. Its regulator should be penalising it for failure. This is a failure of management and of regulation.

In the 1980s (and previously) Business Mail had been a very important part of the Royal Mail Business - as such things as email and later web transactions took off (but not really until the late 1990s early 2000s) a lot of Royal Mail's lucrative business fell-away - hence both the increases in postage prices and the reduction in Royal Mail profitability. Competition in the carriage business (parcels) did not help matters either. When Royal Mail was eventually part-privatised it was already a business in difficulties, with an increasingly un-robust business model. BT's privatisation (and subsequent actions of competition) led to a huge increase in service quality and range of services, together with a decrease in prices (driven by Oftel's RPI-% pricing policy imposed on BT for the areas in which it still had effective monopoly powers). The same was not true for the Mail.

BT separated from The Post Office in 1981 and was privatised in late 1984. Prior to the separation the Post Office had a 'negative' PSBR (Public Sector Borrowing Requirement) which meant it had to lend the government money. Much of that derived from BT profitability. I don't think the Mail side was especially loss making, but it was telecoms that drove value in The Post Office. BT's negative PSBR continued to privatisation, after which BT was able to start investing in the network.

I suspect this is specific to the Gardens - and running out of medication is clearly 'urgent'. If GPs are isolating because of Covid they may still be able to access remotely their systems (i.e. work from home) - I know some can in some surgeries. Keep on trying! And Good Luck.

I didn't suggest it would be easy - I did suggest that the only route to 'stop' a council once it ceases to listen to, or care about, its electors is to use the oversight remedies - which include judicial review. Yes, you are right, it is difficult and may be costly, which is why Private Eye can continue to run a fortnightly full page listing different councils' excesses. Which very rarely 'shames' a council into acting properly. The point I was making, again, is that collecting evidence of the council's failures may still be worthwhile - otherwise the only option is to roll over on your back and play dead and let them do what they want - (which is what they want you to do). Save where there is a balance of electoral power (we don't have it) local 'democracy' is local autocracy - where the autocrats for us are the Labour apparat. (Other local autocracies will have different masters, of course). Or are you advocating 'giving up'? I suppose if you dance to the council's tune you are, but if that, then you would be, wouldn't you?

Does anyone know why some roads would be getting deliveries yet others would have had nothing for so long? A fully functioning DO will have regular post-people allocated to each 'walk' together with office staff (ones who handle enquiries in the DO) who double as relief post people to cover sickness, annual leave and rest days (post people work 5 days out of 6). If there is a lot of sickness some staff will work double shifts (on overtime). Our DO is NOT fully functioning. Some of the walks do have regularly assigned post people - so they only don't get deliveries on rest days, holidays or when their postie is sick (as there aren't enough staff to offer any cover) - but a number of others do not have a permanently assigned postie - they may get casual staff, more frequently no staff at all. [However, collections - from boxes and POs - are handled differently - so you may not get any deliveries but are still able to post out effectively - so long as you aren't posting for delivery in your own DO, of course!] Walks which are only covered by casual staff are frequently poorly served as casuals may not know the walk, and probably aren't being incentivised to find 'missing' addresses. I suspect that the true appalling nature is being hidden by local management from the centre to protect their own backs. I pursued a case via Helen Hayes and (what a surprise) received close to a months supply of letters in two deliveries (over 20 items in each). But you shouldn't have to do it this way.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/1544990/royal-mail-parcel-delays-update-warning-postcodes-affected-uk The postcodes affected are listed below. Bicester DO (OX25 to OX27) Chelmsford DO (CM1 to CM3) Chipping Norton DO (OX7) Cricklewood DO (NW2) Croydon DO (CR0 and CR9) East Dulwich DO (SE22) Erskine DO (PA7 and PA8) Gerrards Cross DO (SL9) Greenwich DO (SE10) Havant DO (PO9 to 10) Herne Hill DO (SE24) Holloway DO (N7) Hornsey DO (N8) Manchester South West DO (M15, M16 and M32) Norwood DO (SE19) Oxted DO (RH8) Peacehaven DO (BN10) Rottingdean DO (BN2 and BN51) South Croydon DO (CR2) St. Helens DO (WA9 to WA11) Sydenham DO (SE26) The Hyde DO (NW9) Upper Holloway DO (N19) Upton DO (CH30 and CH39) Upminster DO (RM14) Wantage DO (OX12) Ware DO (SG9 to SG12) West Wickham DO (BR4) Willesden DO (NW10 and NW26) Do you feel that SE London is not getting a fair crack of the Royal Mail whip here?

We share specific problems with a (thankfully relatively small) group of DOs. They are understaffed (in terms of permanent staff employed - too reliant on casuals) and have been badly hit (particularly in London) by the latest Covid Variant. But the move to Highshore road, which much predated Covid-19, was always a planning disaster - but probably at the regional rather than national level. Our old DO was no longer fit for purpose, offering a very poor working environment for staff - which is why the union supported the closure. And staff moving their HQ to Peckham moved from outer to inner London weighting, which was personally advantageous. However, neither the logistics (of combining two DOs under one roof), nor Highshore Road itself was fit for purpose. And this has been broadly known by everyone. Even the ploy of much reducing the quality of service before the move (by running down the operation in Sylvester Road early) couldn't hide the immediate and continuing failure of the move. If they had employed sufficient staff then it is possible that this could have worked - but they never recruited sufficiently and managing everything not as walks from the DO (as was the case) but as van trips out to Dulwich from Peckham much reduced their staffing flexibility, making it more difficult for staff to cover sickness, leave and rest days. Helen Hayes (and others) argued for a new, fit-for-purpose DO locally in Dulwich/ East Dulwich, but the costs and effort of creating a new DO was unpalatable - I suspect that local management probably argued against it as well, claiming they could provide an effective service in the way they have now established they couldn't. Probably encouraged by views of meeting or excelling their local targets (which could have happened in a non-privatised environment as well, depending on remuneration policies). Finding the space for, and building a new, DO is non-trivial - and I doubt very much whether Royal Mail will ever go down that route now.

The only eventual remedy may be either judicial review or reference to one of the bodies with oversight of Councils (such as the Public Accounts Committee). On that basis an audit trail of what the council says and does may still be of value, even if and when the council in question determines to ignore its own electors. So continuing to ask questions and seek evidence, even where this seems to be wasted effort as far as getting the council to rethink its position is concerned, may still have an eventual payback if used to challenge the council's overall actions in what might be seen as a 'higher' court.

Legally if you have an accident you are required to stop and give your details. This is true about accidents on the Public Highway - I am not sure it is about accidents on private property - which the car park is. Most motoring legislation refers only to what happens 'in public'. As an absurd example, imagine having to stop and exchange details for a prang at Silverstone.

The government has pledged 7,000 air filters for over 300,000 classrooms which is simply ridiculous. I suspect that a large number of classrooms will have windows that can be opened - so that the numbers of classrooms that can thus have improved air quality will be rather higher than 7000. And at no energy cost. Of course, the ones that have windows that open over roads which have increased and stationary traffic because of LTNs is a mooter point. Perhaps Southwark could find the money out of their fines to pay for filters in these.

It was on a news feed a few days ago - can't access it as of now - sorry

Royal Mail is forced to publish lists of those areas with demonstrably poor service - their lists refer out to old postal DO districts - recently East Dulwich (SE22), Herne Hill, Croydon and Sydenham are 4 out of the 13 worst! Across the county. Two at least are of course 'former' areas where their DO has actually been closed and forced into another. Once again, as in Transport, SE London is a comparative loser.

It was interesting during the run up to Christmas to see the parcels side to the Royal Mail were working flat out. I wonder if there is more profit in parcels delivery rather than cards and letters. These is the small package element of Royal Mail (large packages are Parcelforce). I imagine they thought that just before Christmas, parcels (which would have presents in them, or which would then be given as presents) and, in particular, Lateral Flow Covid test kits were of higher priority than Christmas Cards and bills, if a choice had to be made. I wouldn't, personally, disagree with this prioritisation. Clearly Covid itself has eaten into their available workforce, but this position is exacerbated by not filling quite many (I believe) vacancies at Peckham. Once items have been posted, whenever delivered, the revenue has already been received, so probably profitability isn't an issue here. And all items will eventually have to be delivered. The overall staffing position clearly may be an issue of profitability - but this would be outwith any prioritisation between delivery item types.

Without (I hope) getting this lounged - both sets of advocates write as if 'truth' in this context, is both an absolute and something which can be objectively assessed. It isn't and it can't. As regards statistical analysis - the data simply doesn't exist to allow a 'scientific' approach - measurements were not consistent for location, timing or time - nor have raw data (hole counts) ever been fully published. And much of the 'analysis' and 'argument' (and I may be using those terms quite wrongly) has been based on qualitative and not quantitative data. The 'experiment' of the LTNs was never an experiment which fitted any scientific description of what a 'true' experiment could be like - there has not been, for instance, any predeclared and planned (and matched) control area against which the experiment could be judged; and an experiment in road adjustment - in part at least to achieve lower pollution levels - was started during an abnormal pandemic and took place at the same time as a major other adjustment (ULEZ expansion) designed to achieve the same end (except both were maybe more about revenue generation than was admitted at the time). It is thus, and always was, impossible to judge the air quality impact of the LTNs objectively. These hundreds of pages thus mainly reflect irreconcilable views where posters pray-in-aid those elements of analysis which fit their preconceptions, dismissing those that don't as irrelevant or 'wrong'. Both groups are equally as right, or as wrong, as the other. There are precious few posters (who have gone this distance) who can be described (old, traditional meaning) as disinterested. And many who have very clear axes to grind.